The live action film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, an extension of the Harry Potter series, is a joy for both long time and new fans.

Set in the same universe as Harry Potter, the movie takes place 70 years before Harry Potter steps foot into Hogwarts.

The film, which was released November 18th, is the first in the Harry Potter series not based off a major novel, so diehard fans will not be distracted comparing every little detail with the book. On the flip side, no prior knowledge of the wizarding world is needed.

The screenplay was written by J.K. Rowling to aid Comic Relief in the UK, which helps people living really tough lives both in the US and the UK, and across the world’s poorest countries. It is inspired by the fictional textbook of the same name featured in the Harry Potter novels.

The movie follows the protagonist, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), the author of the Fantastic Beasts book, as he works his way through New York with his magical briefcase full of creatures from the wizarding world. The creatures are illegal in the U.S. wizarding world for multiple reasons, the main one being that they endanger “No-Majs”, or Muggles. Newt stumbles his way through New York and befriends a No-Maj, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) , a man who just wants his own bakery.

The movie is expected to attract more fans to Potter, and it is being made into a series.